


It's A Learning Curve

by InsightfulInsomniac



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Elementary School Teachers, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Pining, Teacher AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-18 16:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11294499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsightfulInsomniac/pseuds/InsightfulInsomniac
Summary: After the disaster that was Mr. Sobel, Toccoa Elementary hires a brand new gym teacher, Mr. Toye. When George's first graders fall in love with Mr. Toye after their first PE class, George can't deny being a little more than smitten with him too.





	1. Push Up, Fall Down

**Author's Note:**

> Fluffy Luztoye written on a whim. Somehow this turned into a multi-chapter ordeal that should be pretty fun to write :)

"Alright everyone, let's line up at the door!" George calls, and his first-graders excitedly form a single-file line behind the door, chatting animatedly.

"I'm line leader today, right Mr. Luz?" Isaac asks, bounding to the front of the line when George agrees.

"Let's remember our inside voices on the way to gym!" He instructs, leading them out the door. "Follow Isaac!"

On their walk to the gym, Allie taps his arm gently. "Mr. Luz, do we have a new gym teacher?"

He nods. "Yes, you do. Mr. Toye."

Katie glances back at the two of them, whispering loudly. "I'm happy. I didn't like Mr. Sobel."

George represses he urge to second that, instead just putting a finger to his lips, effectively redirecting his students.

When they arrive at the gym, George opens the door to reveal the back of a muscular man, his muscles stretching against the gym shirt he sports. When he turns around, George sucks in a breath. Chiseled jaw, dark eyes, and a smile just for the kids, he knows that he's going to be in too deep with this one in seconds.

"Hey guys, come and have a seat on the black line!" He greets, waving them in before approaching George, his hand outstretched. "Joe Toye."

George clears his throat. "Mr. Luz —" he winces. "Er, George, George Luz. Sorry, force of habit."

Joe smiles knowingly, a low chuckle rumbling out of him. "I'll probably be doin' the same after awhile. Nice to meet you, Luz."

"Call me George."

"Okay, George. I'll see you in a half hour," he nods, beginning to walk back to the kids. It takes George just slightly too long to mumble a goodbye and close the door behind him, not even caring that he looks like some love-struck teenager from a cheesy romance movie as he leans against the door, exhaling slowly.

Carwood's going to get a mouthful at lunch.

******

Not a minute too late, George arrives at the gym doors, pushing them open to the sounds of laughing kids.

"Mr. Luz! Mr. Toye showed us how to stretch! Watch my windmill," Aaron grins, reaching down to touch his opposite foot with his hand, doing it all too fast and almost smacking his best friend, Owen, in the face.

"Slowly, Aaron," Joe laughs, bending over to demonstrate the motion again. "You're a windmill, not a helicopter."

Aaron giggles and does it again, slower this time. George claps in response, and Aaron preens under his beloved teacher's praise.

"Mr. Toye showed us how to do push-ups too!" Jenna adds, running over to join the boys. "I can do ten!"

"Yeah, but Mr. Toye can do, like, a thousand million," Valerie comments, and Jenna nods in agreement. "Mr. Toye! Show Mr. Luz your push-ups!"

"He has really big muscles," Valerie whispers to him, her hand blocking her mouth from Joe's view.

 _Is it inappropriate to agree? Maybe._ "I know," George whispers back, and she giggles loudly.

"I don't know if Mr. Luz has time for that," Joe smiles over at her, casually approaching the rapidly forming crowd of first-graders surrounding George. "It's up to him."

Before George can say something that is way too flirtatious for an elementary school setting, Kyle butts in. "Can you do a push-up, Mr. Luz?"

George snorts. "I haven't for awhile, bud. Maybe one or two, but not as many as Mr. Toye."

"Have a contest! Austin screeches, running over to them. "Please?"

A chorus of "Yeah! Please?" echoes from the group, and George fights the urge to groan. The puppy-dog eyes get the best of him, and he sighs, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt. "Fine! Just so y'all will quit your yappin'," he remarks with a wink at his class. "You in, Mr. Toye?"

Joe raises his eyebrow in his direction, shrugging amusedly. "I guess so. Ready?"

"No," George retorts, but gets into the unfamiliar push-up position. "This is giving me war flashbacks of the pacer tests," he mutters to Joe, who laughs quietly.

"Up... down. Up... down," George imitates, earning another gloriously husky laugh from the gym teacher.

"Someone want to count us down?" Joe asks the kids, and Hannah quickly volunteers.

"Three... two... one... go!"

George lowers himself to an-almost ninety degree angle, a false sense of hope setting in as his arms don't give out on him right away. He sneaks a glance over at Joe, who had apparently been watching him the entire time with amusement.

"You're not at ninety degrees," Joe jokes with a smirk thrown in his direction, and George just about collapses right there.

"Yeah, well, cut me some slack. I get my cardio from runnin' after these kids, but I don't have much time to weight train," he protests, exhaling through the next few push-ups.

"Joe, you wouldn't think of me as a lesser man if I fall right now?" George asks a little while later, his arms shaking. Joe manages to shrug through his push-ups, almost challenging him to find out.

It's then that George glances over at his watch, immediately hopping up from the gym floor. "I've gotta get you guys to lunch!" He looks apologetically back at Joe, who just offers him a smile in return. "Say goodbye and thank you to Mr. Toye, class!"

"Bye, Mr. Toye! Thank you!" The kids echo, lining up at the door in a practiced motion. Joe replies happily, placing a hand on George's arm before he leaves. "Nice meeting you again, George."

He nods. "You too, Joe. See ya around."

******

Throwing his packed lunch on the table in the teacher's lounge, George falls into the chair across from Lip. "I am so fucked."

Lipton sighs. "What now?"

He glances around the room, empty aside from the other first-grade teacher and the two other sixth-grade teachers, all used to George's antics by now. "Mr. Toye? The new gym teacher?"

Carwood nods. "Ron's met him. Says he seems alright."

"Yeah, well," George runs a hand through his hair. "I just had the absolute pleasure of meeting his extremely muscled self, and my kids managed to convince me to go up against him in a push-up contest," Carwood groans, scrubbing a hand over his face. "George —"

"And all I could think about the whole damn time was how those arms could lift me up and hold me against the fuckin' wall!"

He hears a snort from the other table, and he glares over at his fellow teachers. "Shut up, Karen. You're married."

George looks pointedly over at Lip too. "And so are you. Don't give me that look."

"You're digging a dangerous hole," Carwood warns, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Be careful."

"I am. Usually."

"That's a lie," the wooden chair between them creaks as Ron slides in, stealing a pretzel from Lip's bag. "What's going on?"

"He's suddenly head-over-heels for the new PE teacher."

Ron laughs. "Joe? God, is he your type?"

"That man could bench press me and five of my first graders at the same time," George replies through a mouthful of pasta. "That is hot."

"Do you have lunch now?" Carwood asks his husband, who just shrugs and gives him a sly smirk.

"I'm in between sessions. No kids to scare into bringing their library books back on time."

"One of these times you're going to get caught," Lip sighs half-heartedly, forcing back a smile.

"Dick's the only one who's not too scared to fire me, and he gets to have Nix all to himself all day. It's not fair."

Carwood snorts. "I hardly think Dick would let Nix interrupt him all that often."

Leaning back in his chair, Speirs crosses his arms. "You'd be surprised."

Lipton turns his watch towards himself, packing up his lunch with a tired sigh. "I guess I've got to collect my kids. That'd be the responsible thing to do."

"Eh, they're sixth graders," George teases. "They practically rule the school, right?"

"Right. They'd take it over in a day. See y'all later," Lip backs out of the room with a quick wave, Ron trailing on his heels with a quick goodbye to George.

Staring down into his cold pasta, George hears the door open, but doesn't look up until he hears the squeaking of a chair sliding across the floor near him and some muffled laughter.

"It's George, right?"

_Shit._


	2. Kids Say the Darndest Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George and Joe aren't given much time to talk at lunch, thanks to two of George's mischievous students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to the frequent ketchup packet explosion contests held in my elementary school.

_"It's George, right?"_

Joe knows his name is George. But he's got to be causal, doesn't he?

The brunet first grade teacher offers him a smile from over a Tupperware container of pasta, lazing back in his chair. "Sure is, Joe. Is it your lunch break?"

Joe nods, unpacking his sandwich. "Yep. Nix told me I could take it any time between classes, and I guess I chose the right time."

Seeing the other man's eyes widen for just a split second, Joe realizes the all-too-forward implication he just made.

"I — uh — you've been the friendliest face I've met since I've been here," he covers honestly, mentally face-palming himself for his slip of the tongue. "I hope you don't mind that I'm crashing your lunch."

"No, no —" George insists hurriedly, swallowing a swig of his water. "My friend Carwood — he's a sixth grade teacher; you've met his husband, Ron — he eats lunch with me for like five minutes before he has to pick up his kids. I'm all alone after that."

"Okay. Good," Joe pauses for a moment, then remembers something George mentioned. "How do you know I met Ron?"

A bright blush rises to George's cheeks, and Joe can't help but find it entirely endearing. There's a slight quiver in the other teacher's voice as he replies.

"Uh, Ron ate lunch with Lip and I today. He mentioned meeting you."

"Hm," Joe lets the corner of his mouth quirk up into a smirk. "Did you say anything about our little competition?"

A breathless laugh whooshes from George, and Joe watches as he subconsciously taps his fork on the side of his container. "I told them about it. Told them that you crushed me, as expected."

"We didn't have time to finish; you don't know that."

"Yes I do! You're fuckin' Goliath!" George retorts, gesticulating wildly at his arms. "You've literally got biceps bigger than my head."

Realizing he probably shouldn't have said something so incriminating, George immediately flushes even redder, a choked sound of embarrassment sounding in the back of his throat.

Joe chuckles lowly. "It's kinda my job to stay in shape. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Believe me, I never thought —" There's a loud exclamation of noise from the cafeteria, and then everything goes silent.

"Shit," George curses when he hears the voice of a frazzled lunch aide, and he rapidly packs up his lunch, jumping out of his chair. "I've gotta go, Joe. I bet you ten bucks that whatever the hell just happened is because of one of my kids."

Instead of letting George just run out of the lounge, Joe follows him to the doorway that connects the faculty room to the cafeteria, standing in amused shock in the doorway.

"Zoe and Kellan!"

Joe watches as George marches out, teacher voice and disappointed posture and all, stopping in front of a ketchup covered blond boy and a very guilty-faced girl.

"What happened here?" He asks firmly, resting his hands on his hips. Joe has to admit, seeing George's strict side is impressive — he may be goofy, but he doesn't let his kids get away with everything.

"We were having a ketchup packet exploding competition," Zoe explains, eyes flicking between the boy and George. "Kellan lost."

"Yeah, it's okay, Mr. Luz!" Kellan supplies, wiping his face with the back of his hand, effectively smearing the red condiment across both of his cheeks. "Zoe won, fair and square."

"Then why is there ketchup on the ceiling?" He asks exasperatedly, and sure enough, a bright red splotch stains the white tiled ceiling above their table.

"The ceiling lost too?" Zoe amends weakly, and George sighs, grasping both of their shoulders and steering them towards the teacher's lounge.

"You have five minutes until recess, class. Keep eating, and no more exploding ketchup packets!" He calls over his shoulder, locking eyes with Joe as he directs his messy students towards the sink in the back.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Toye?" Kellan asks cheerily as George takes a wet paper towel to his face and arms, not trusting him to clean himself up all the way.

"I'm eating lunch, bud. Like you were supposed to be doing," he reprimands softly, and George hides a smile from behind Kellan.

"I finished early," he shrugs. "Zoe and I wanted to go out to recess, but we couldn't. We're best friends, ya know," he comments, grinning over at the raven-haired girl. "Who's your best friend, Mr. Toye?"

"I don't know," Joe replies. "I just moved here, so I'm the new kid. I haven't met many people yet."

"But you met Mr. Luz!" Zoe protests, trying to duck out of the way of the paper towel George has now turned on her. "He can be your best friend!"

"Maybe he can be," Joe repeats, glancing over at George, who just winks in response, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Or," Kellan stage whispers to Zoe, much louder than he realizes, "he could be Mr. Luz's boyfriend."

George immediately stops his cleaning of Zoe's hands, and Joe clears his throat awkwardly. Both Zoe and Kellan swivel their heads from George to Joe, realizing that the two teachers had heard them.

"Jamie makes me laugh, and he's my boyfriend," Kellan clarifies plainly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You made Mr. Toye laugh in gym today, Mr. Luz."

"Now, making someone laugh doesn't automatically mean you love the other person, right Kellan?" George replies slowly, gauging Joe's reaction out of the corner of his eye. "Zoe makes you laugh, but you don't want her to be your girlfriend."

"I like boys," Kellan answers bluntly.

"Well, that's okay," George continues, placing a hand on Kellan's shoulder as he stands up. "'Cause guess what, I do too."

Joe merely stands there, dumbfounded, as George leads the two kids back to the cafeteria, gently scolding them about the ketchup incident before sending them out to recess with the aides.

"They're good kids," George laughs lightly, collecting his stuff from the table they shared just a few minutes ago. "Just a little energetic."

"I can see that," is all Joe can manage to respond, awkwardly packing up his lunch as well.

"Yeah, uh —" George laughs again. "If you can help it, try not to pair up Jamie and Kellan in class. They'll whine for a bit, but at least they won't try to sneak kisses behind your back."

"They're in first grade," Joe deadpans, but not without an amused smile.

"I know," George grins. "It's not like they're making out, but, well, we can't really stop them from giving each other a few pecks."

Joe shakes his head. "I didn't even know I was gay until college, forget first grade."

George shrugs. "They're early bloomers."

As George turns to walk out the door, he stops for a minute, eyeing Joe with that same glint in his eye that he had earlier. "Did you say you were gay?"

"Yeah, George. I like boys," Joe replies with a cheeky grin, memorizing the elated look George gives him, because he decides that he definitely wants to see it again, without any restraint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!! I'm finally back to writing again! Thanks to having a little bit of time off work, I'll get back into the swing of writing fics and Tumblr prompts! Thanks for being so patient!

**Author's Note:**

> Joe with kids is just the cutest thing ever. Slightly inspired by aces_low's Hello My Old Heart and Master Toye. Also, to all non-Americans, the pacer test is literal hell. Look it up, because I never want to think about that again.


End file.
